I did not see all of this debate, but did catch the sound bites later. My first thoughts on it, was that it was strange… especially when compared to the Prime Time Debate. It was like an audition to be on the real show, which none of these candidates were going to be.

I myself did not learn anything new about these candidates, but again I was unable to watch it all, just not sure it would have mattered if I did. Carly Fiorina did come across pretty strong and I’m guessing will move up in the polls. Don’t be surprised if she is picked as a running mate if she does not win the nomination (I don’t think she will, but if we have a Republican win the election, I see her somewhere in the mix, Secretary of State maybe?)

Let’s talk about the main attraction…

Donald Trump!

Again, I say Fox news is genius! They have done nothing but cover Donald Trump over the last few months making sure he would be in their top 10 guidelines for their debate… then once they got him there, they made sure he delivered… I mean they set it all up from the very first question, which was aimed directly at Trump. But before we jump right in, there were other’s there:

But Fox set this up as The Trump Show and that’s what they got. Like I said they made sure of it.

The first question was a loaded one aimed directly at Trump asking if anyone on the stage could NOT promise to NOT run as an independent if they did NOT get the Republican nomination to raise their hand… Trump didn’t hesitate, he knew they meant him and he raised his hand.

Wow, way to call Trump out early, I thought Fox News loved Trump. It really comes as no surprise, but it still was a hard shot and Fox News knows it. Getting that out there in the open preys on Republican’s fears (Do I say Republican or GOP? GOP is easier to type). If Trump were to lose the nomination to say, someone like Bush, and he then ran as an independent, it will take votes away from the GOP helping the Democrats to win the election. and this is true, but let’s face it, Mr. Trump is not gonna throw away money like that. Still let’s imagine it… we have Clinton against Bush and a excentric billionaire runs as an independent…

Total flash back to 1992 and my first time voting. Again, I don’t see Trump wasting money just to prevent the GOP from the Whitehouse, then again, it does sound like something he would do.

1992 all over again… wow! Can that really happen? I don’t want to think about it.

Alright so even if Trump won’t really run as an independent if he loses the GOP nomination, he of course has to be honest and say he can’t promise he won’t. So bam, we get off to an explosive start, and one has to wonder if the obvious answer will hurt Trump or if in some kind of bully like “leverage” The GOP will nominate him just so he doesn’t run as an independent.

LOL, I’m totally kidding, well Trump is a bully, but that’s just absurd to think The GOP would be dumb enough to fall for such tactics… right?

Still why did Fox news set up Trump so nice and pretty before the debate just to shoot him down right at the get go? Is this politics or ratings? Hmmm… I know what I would call it.

Brilliant, genius… and much more ratings than politics. I mean when it came to Trump they went searching for those soundbites that they can play all day, today and the days to come. So later when Megyn Kelly comes straight at Trump and confronts him on the names he has used to describe women on social media and other places, using words like Dog and Pig, it wasn’t so much as an attack on his ability to be the president (though it is) it wasn’t even really questioning his views on women, it was a grab at those soundbites!

Trump now says the questions were unfair and they were, but Donald shouldn’t take it personal, Fox was just doing good business and Trump gets that, right?

The one thing I know about Trump, he is a bully type who does not like to be poked. So when Fox News poked, Trump poked back. He kind of threatened Megyn Kelly (by the way, oh how I dislike Megyn Kelly, lol) when she “wasn’t nice to him” saying maybe he didn’t have to be so nice to her… but he quickly said he wouldn’t do that, just hint at doing it.

The biggest question is if his school yard bully tactics (which to me the way I always saw Trump) is ever going to actually hurt him since he can turn it all into a joke… a Saturday Night Live punchline. I really can’t wait to see how the polls react to Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina.

In the end Trump comes away the same as before, attractive to those who are tired of the government, but will that get him the GOP nomination? I don’t think it will in the end, just as I don’t think Trump will run as an independent… so to in my opinion, Trump will not factor in once the primaries are done. Still he will make it interesting till then.

So then who will be the GOP nomination? my bet is still on Bush, though you wouldn’t believe it from the debate. he looked out of touch and unsure… still he has the money and the name… I believe he will come around and get the GOP’s approval (I think he already has it, but hey, I’ll be happy to be wrong).

Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz scare the hell out of me. Literally.

I’m sorry, but Chris Christie just seems sneaky. I know, they are all sneaky, they are politicians after all. Still I just can’t trust the guy and could never vote for him. and it goes beyond “Bridgegate” and his choice of friends. Maybe it’s a west coast thing, but it bothers me when people use 9-11 as much as some east coast politicians do. When Christie and Rand Paul get into it about surveillance on American people without proper warrants it was a good discussion, one of my favorites of the night. They both have a point, our safety is important, but government can not throw away our rights to do so. Rand Paul tries to get his point across and stealing some limelight by attacking President Obama, saying he didn’t trust Obama with our personal information (though it is the leader of our country) and then further ensuring that soundbite by bringing up Christie’s hug to President Obama (yes at the expense of cooties).

Damn, I thought, Rand Paul just served Chris Christie, but it was so Jr. High, “You hugged the President, you love him, why don’t you get married?” (That’s a great segueway into the question I was waiting for, how they all feel about the court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, but that too was part of Fox’s elaborate plan and didn’t really happen, well it did but didn’t, and I will discus it but we can’t go there yet because it was Christie’s response that really cemented how I feel about him.

Christie replied by saying the only hugs he remembered giving were the ones he gave to families of 9-11 victims. WTF? So is he denying hugging Obama or just forgot about it? I’m sorry, but that’s just wrong. Yea, no Chris Christie… he’s shady!

So, what about Rand Paul? I mean I want to like the guy. He thinks outside the box. Not your typical Republican. But he’s crazy right?

Who’s left? Marco Rubio and Scott Walker did alright and I’ll be waiting to hear more from them both as the months go on.

Dr. Ben Carson comes across as a very smart man… but I don’t know if he is ready to be President. As much as we’d all love for a non-politician to be voted President, it ain’t gonna happen. It would be disastrous with the state the world is in right now. But someday… yes, maybe someday.

Last but not least is the candidate I feel did the best last night, John Kasich. I really like the guy, but then he’s a likable guy, which is why Fox news went to him when asking about same-sex marriage. Oh you Fox News… so smart. Kasich gave the safe answer that he was old-fashioned and believed in “traditional” marriage but that he would accept his daughters if they were gay and that he went to a friend’s same-sex wedding. This is a story already known (I heard Kasich talk about being accepting and attending a friends same-sex wedding quite a while back) and exactly what Fox News wanted for that answer. Why? Because if they went to some of the other candidates and they went off on how they feel on same-sex marriage or how they believed the courts decisions were wrong and will destroy America… well then that would be the soundbite we would be hearing today… and Fox News wants it all about Trump.

All my opinion of course, but it sure looks like a well polished and planed machine on Fox News part. Keep the outrageous Trump in the headlines and not some of the other candidates outrageous views. Though they did end it on God (did anyone catch Megyn Kelly snicker when she said “God”, like she got the joke, man I don’t like her).

And in the end that’s what worries me most about all these candidates. Their blind faith in what is written in the Bible clouds what we need a President to do, which is take us forward, not focus on taking us back.